Create a WhatsApp message template

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Note: If your WhatsApp templates view looks different from the one shown in this article, jump to these instructions instead. If WhatsApp message templates are new to you, learn more about them.

To create a WhatsApp message template:

1. Go to Settings > Account > WhatsApp message templates.
   You'll see the WhatsApp message template list: 
   
   WhatsApp message templates overview
   
   
2. To start creating a new template, click on the plus icon  .
   The Create a new template popup opens.
   
   Create a new template
   
3. Enter a name for the template. The name can contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9, only lowercase letters) and underscores (_). Spaces are not allowed.
4. Select the category to which your template belongs.
5. Select the language of your template.
6. Click CREATE TEMPLATE.
   The template opens in a popup.
   
   Submit a new template
7. Write the text of the message template in the Body text field. The maximum length of the body text is 1024 characters. You can also add variables, which are placeholders replaced by customer-specific data when the template is sent. 
8. If you want, you can add:
   • a header that can contain text or multimedia content
     The maximum length of the header text is 60 characters. The header is also a placeholder where you can insert an image later when you send them, similar to the variables in the text. The following multimedia content is possible: image (PNG, JPG), video (MP4), documents (PDF)
   • a footer that contains additional information in text 
     The maximum length of the footer text is 60 characters.
   • two types of buttons:
     • Quick Reply: This allows the user to easily send a text message by clicking a button, such as “Yes”, “No”, or “Maybe”. You can add a maximum of three buttons. They can only contain text (numbers and letters), a maximum of 20 characters in each button.
     • Call To Action: This type of button contains a URL or a telephone number and directs the user to a website or opens their telephone app for calling when they click on the button. You can use both static and dynamic URLs. A dynamic URL contains a variable and can therefore refer to different menu items within a website. The user must fill in this variable when sending the campaign.
9. If you want to use the template in several languages, select the other languages in the Add language field and type in the appropriate text for each of them. Templates in different languages ​​are individually verified by WhatsApp.
10. Click SAVE to create the template.
    You can see the template in the WhatsApp message template list. If you want to edit your template, click on the three vertical dots next to the template name.
11. When your template is ready, send it to WhatsApp for approval by clicking on SUBMIT. Note that you cannot edit the template after you submit it for approval. When WhatsApp has approved your template, its status changes to Approved and you can start using the template.

You can see the current status of the template in the WhatsApp message template list: 

• Green: Approved
• Orange:  In progress
• Red: Rejected
• White: Not yet sent for WhatsApp's approval 

See also: 

Campaigns overview

WhatsApp message templates